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zarco_j's review
2.0
Hmm... I was prepared to be disappointed with this after reading reviews so I wasn't surprised by my reaction.
The descriptions of the eruption were really good, the characters were not. One dimensional and unlikeable.
I don't care enough to read the rest of the series.
The descriptions of the eruption were really good, the characters were not. One dimensional and unlikeable.
I don't care enough to read the rest of the series.
jayfr's review
2.0
Hmm... I was prepared to be disappointed with this after reading reviews so I wasn't surprised by my reaction.
The descriptions of the eruption were really good, the characters were not. One dimensional and unlikeable.
I don't care enough to read the rest of the series.
The descriptions of the eruption were really good, the characters were not. One dimensional and unlikeable.
I don't care enough to read the rest of the series.
ecoyne's review
dark
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
vylotte's review
1.0
This is my first Harry Turtledove book, about a California cop and his extended family, as a supervolcano under Yellowstone erupts and screws the world. Obviously I've heard his name before, he's an author of some renown and I was excited to read his take on the apocalypse.
What an ugly, caustic book. And I don't mean the garbage spewing out of the supervolcano. Reading through, yes, the main character is grumpy, curmudgeonly. Okay, let's keep going. His daughter is specifically called by everyone as an unpleasant bitch. Okay. His ex wife is awful. One son is a mooch that refuses to leave college, working on his fourth? fifth? major trying to stay on daddy's gravy train as long as possible. Another is a musician who at least works hard. Everyone is an acerbic jerk. Oh look! A cheerful character! The cop's magic happy girlfriend who is decades younger than him and chuckles at his constant ire and loves him regardless.
Everything is viewed as pessimistically and abrasively as possible, he has an eye for the absolute worst way to view the world. Beautiful autumn leaves? Someone will mention they're the color of bile and acid. Hey look a baby, or do we mean a squalling brat that smells like poo? One character goes to a gynecologist and we get treated to lovely snippets of ""Do you get sick and tired of staring at pussy all day?" And "He wouldn't care about a little old lady's twat any more than he cared about her elbow. But if a cute young thing came in [she] guessed his interest might be more than strictly professional," and the crowning moment when, "His fingering of her was nothing but businesslike."
Turtledove is an equal opportunity ass, though. About halfway through, I started to write a list of every "group" that was insulted or denigrated. We have:
Ethiopians
Musicians
Mexicans
Hispanics
Women
College Students
Liberals
Conservatives
Residents of Berkeley
Residents of Santa Barbara
Comedians
Teenagers
Africans
Lawyers
Religious People
Cats
Geologists
Newscasters
Journalists
Fema
Christians
Airport Security
Drivers of Hummers
And that was just one half of the book.
And oh, yay, lovely subplot centered around a rapist/murderer who targets senior citizen women, so we get images of dead little old ladies with their skirts hiked up to their waists. Because the world's ugliest family isn't enough.
There is enough bleakness in the world without dropping myself into Turtledove's black view of life. Which is a shame, because hey, supervolcano.
Do not want.
What an ugly, caustic book. And I don't mean the garbage spewing out of the supervolcano. Reading through, yes, the main character is grumpy, curmudgeonly. Okay, let's keep going. His daughter is specifically called by everyone as an unpleasant bitch. Okay. His ex wife is awful. One son is a mooch that refuses to leave college, working on his fourth? fifth? major trying to stay on daddy's gravy train as long as possible. Another is a musician who at least works hard. Everyone is an acerbic jerk. Oh look! A cheerful character! The cop's magic happy girlfriend who is decades younger than him and chuckles at his constant ire and loves him regardless.
Everything is viewed as pessimistically and abrasively as possible, he has an eye for the absolute worst way to view the world. Beautiful autumn leaves? Someone will mention they're the color of bile and acid. Hey look a baby, or do we mean a squalling brat that smells like poo? One character goes to a gynecologist and we get treated to lovely snippets of ""Do you get sick and tired of staring at pussy all day?" And "He wouldn't care about a little old lady's twat any more than he cared about her elbow. But if a cute young thing came in [she] guessed his interest might be more than strictly professional," and the crowning moment when, "His fingering of her was nothing but businesslike."
Turtledove is an equal opportunity ass, though. About halfway through, I started to write a list of every "group" that was insulted or denigrated. We have:
Ethiopians
Musicians
Mexicans
Hispanics
Women
College Students
Liberals
Conservatives
Residents of Berkeley
Residents of Santa Barbara
Comedians
Teenagers
Africans
Lawyers
Religious People
Cats
Geologists
Newscasters
Journalists
Fema
Christians
Airport Security
Drivers of Hummers
And that was just one half of the book.
And oh, yay, lovely subplot centered around a rapist/murderer who targets senior citizen women, so we get images of dead little old ladies with their skirts hiked up to their waists. Because the world's ugliest family isn't enough.
There is enough bleakness in the world without dropping myself into Turtledove's black view of life. Which is a shame, because hey, supervolcano.
Do not want.
ineffablebob's review
3.0
If you like alternate history/parallel worlds at all, you already know Turtledove's work...he's about as prolific as they come, and he's pretty much the acknowledged master of the genre. This book is set in the present-day US, which is a bit different for him, as nearly all his other work is set somewhere in the past. And there's no war. Other than that, though, it's classic Turtledove...focuses on a few characters, following them through the larger storyline and telling the tale through their eyes. This is the first in a series, looks like two more to follow.
I notice that many other reviewers have complained about the lack of action, or that you dislike the characters chosen for the focus. Everything Harry Turtledove has ever written is the same character-based writing style, only the settings change. And many of his characters are less than perfect...makes them more human. It looks to me as if some people were expecting a action-packed post-apocalyptic thriller...and got Turtledove instead. Yep, that's his name on the book, still the same as everything else he's ever written.
Is this Turtledove's best book? Not by a long shot. But it's not bad either. It reads like exactly what it is...Turtledove's take on a disaster hitting the present-day world, with a lot more to follow in sequels.
I notice that many other reviewers have complained about the lack of action, or that you dislike the characters chosen for the focus. Everything Harry Turtledove has ever written is the same character-based writing style, only the settings change. And many of his characters are less than perfect...makes them more human. It looks to me as if some people were expecting a action-packed post-apocalyptic thriller...and got Turtledove instead. Yep, that's his name on the book, still the same as everything else he's ever written.
Is this Turtledove's best book? Not by a long shot. But it's not bad either. It reads like exactly what it is...Turtledove's take on a disaster hitting the present-day world, with a lot more to follow in sequels.
kleonard's review
1.0
I'd enjoyed some of Turtledove's books before, but this was full of sexism and racism. One of the narrators makes a rape joke to his wife. Characters are described in racist terms, or are identified through sexist descriptions of their bodies. On top of all that, the science was terrible, and the author, despite his PhD, doesn't seem to understand how academia works these days.
mlhalsey's review
3.0
It's a pretty good B-movie disaster flick in novel form. There is some mild misogyny (women characters squawk, squeak, and purr occasionally, but men always have the dignity of using words), more than a little bitching about the popular and incorrect use of "impact," and a strangely all-white cast of main characters despite being set in several places around the United States.
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